Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the de facto chief of South Korea's largest conglomerate, is currently visiting the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in China, industry sources said Wednesday.

Sources said key Samsung officials from the semiconductor and display divisions are accompanying Lee, hinting that the top decision maker is aiming to expand ties with Chinese partners during the trip.

Lee is anticipated to hold meetings with various Chinese firms, including BYD Auto Co., an electric vehicle manufacturer, sources claimed.

Kim Ki-nam, the head of Samsung's device solution division, which oversees its crucial chip business, and Lee Dong-hoon, who leads Samsung Display Co., are traveling with Lee to China.

Industry watchers said Samsung is presumed to have prepared for the trip for a long time and that the tech giant may also seek merger and acquisition projects in China.

Earlier this year, Lee visited Europe and Canada on a trip that symbolized his full-fledged return to corporate affairs after being imprisoned for roughly a year. He was released in February after an appellate court handed him a suspended sentence in a bribery and corruption scandal that led to the ousting of former President Park Geun-hye in 2017.

The vice chairman is the only son of Lee Kun-hee, the conglomerate's top manager, who has been hospitalized since May 2014 after suffering a heart attack.(Yonhap News)